Performance (1970)

Directors:

Donald Cammell
Nicolas Roeg

Writer:

Donald Cammell (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

4 September 1970 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Music

Tagline:

See them all in a film about fantasy. And reality. Vice. And versa.

Plot:

Chas, a violent and psychotic East London gangster needs a place to lie low after a hit that should never have been carried out...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Musician | Superstar | Refuge | Basement

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

James Fox	...	Chas
Mick Jagger	...	Turner
Anita Pallenberg	...	Pherber
Michèle Breton	...	Lucy (as Michele Breton)
Ann Sidney	...	Dana
John Bindon	...	Moody
Stanley Meadows	...	Rosebloom
Allan Cuthbertson	...	The Lawyer
Anthony Morton	...	Dennis (as Antony Morton)
Johnny Shannon	...	Harry Flowers
Anthony Valentine	...	Joey Maddocks
Kenneth Colley	...	Tony Farrell (as Ken Colley)
John Sterland	...	The Chauffeur
Laraine Wickens	...	Lorraine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ian McShane	...	Noel - Black Musican (voice)
Reg Lye	...	Workman (uncredited)
Billy Murray	...	Thug 1 (uncredited)
Anthony Roye	...	Fraser (uncredited)

Directed by
Donald Cammell
Nicolas Roeg

Writing credits
Donald Cammell		(written by)
Anita Pallenberg		uncredited

Produced by
David Cammell	....	associate producer
Sanford Lieberson	....	producer

Original Music by
Jack Nitzsche

Cinematography by
Nicolas Roeg		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Antony Gibbs
Brian Smedley-Aston
Frank Mazzola		(uncredited)
Tony Palmer		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
John Clark

Makeup Department
Linda DeVetta	....	makeup artist (as Linda De Vetta)
Helen Lennox	....	hairdresser
Paul Rabiger	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Kevin Kavanagh	....	unit manager
Robert Lynn	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Burge	....	assistant director

Art Department
Christopher Gibbs	....	design consultant: Turner's house
Peter Young	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Ron Barron	....	sound recordist
Alan Pattillo	....	sound editor
Gerry Humphreys	....	dubbing mixer (uncredited)
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Molloy	....	camera operator
Paul Borg	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Deborah Dixon	....	costume consultant
Billy Jay	....	wardrobe
Emma Porteus	....	wardrobe (as Emma Porteous)

Music Department
Merry Clayton	....	music player (as The Merry Clayton Singers)
Ry Cooder	....	musician
Amiya Dasgupta	....	musician
Lowell George	....	musician
Milt Holland	....	musician
Bernard Krause	....	musician: Moog synthesisor
Randy Newman	....	music conductor
Gene Parsons	....	musician
Nasser Rastigar-Nejad	....	musician: santur
Buffy Sainte-Marie	....	music performer (as Buffy Ste. Marie)
Russ Titelman	....	musician (as Russel Titelman)
Bobby West	....	musician

Other crew
Annabel Davis-Goff	....	continuity (as Anabelle Davis-Goff)
David Litvinoff	....	dialogue coach
David Litvinoff	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Goodtimes Enterprises (producer)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros (1971) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2010) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (video)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Camera Effects (titles and opticals)

Other Companies

• Vanguard Records  through the courtesy of: Buffy Ste. marie performed musically

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, nudity, drug material and some violence

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 (cut) | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) | France:-16 | South Korea:18 | West Germany:18 (f) | Brazil:18 | USA:TV-MA | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

23 Lowndes Square, Knightsbridge, London, England, UK

Company:

Goodtimes Enterprises

Trivia:

Anita Pallenberg replaced the pregnant Marianne Faithfull.

Quotes:

Pherber:[to Chas, about Turner] He wants to know why your show is a bigger turn-on than his ever was.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Princess and the Gangster (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Gone Dead Train

"Time for a Change"

Just recently released on DVD, this film is, no doubt, about to have a whole new group of fans.

Here, questions of gender and sexuality are marred by the influence of drugs in the hippie enclave of Powis Square in '60s London. After a rapid fall from power within local crime syndicate, James Fox flees the mafia and finds refuge in the eclectic house of Mick Jagger. Jagger is living the life of the failed superstar with a small entourage of women; a recluse, whose appetite for sex and drugs is fueled by his royalty cheques. When this young gangster stumbles into his house, Jagger involves him into his kinky games, transforming him into one of his own. There is plenty of subtext here, if anyone is interested in digging deeper.

Perhaps the biggest letdown of the recent DVD release is that it was released in mono Dolby. Seeing as the soundtrack was released on stereo CD, why couldn't the audio, at least during the music sequences, have been similarly remastered?

The Stones rarely played "Memo From Turner" due to their "women troubles" that stemmed from the film. Jagger was sleeping with Richard's girlfriend on the set, or something to that effect. Anyway, "Memo From Turner" was released on the album "Metamorphasis" in 1976. The intro on the 1976 version is great, but the 1970 version on this album is one of the hottest tracks the Stones ever recorded without Mic Taylor. This song proves to be one of the first music videos ever made, as it appears in its entirety in Roeg's film.